Alice explained to the Protectors that she could rewire Angel's wings to a neurotransmitter inside the titaness' helmet, making flight as simple as thinking and let the wings do all of the work; she admitted she should have done this in the first place. Angel and Logan liked the idea and began designing the proper hardware, once again with the guidance of Alice. According to the clock, it was 12:30, and Nick had volunteered to grab lunch for the team. By his word, he returned with bags of tacos and canned sodas.
The three Guardians took their seats around the TV as Logan turned it to a live Crucible match from Mars. Lord Shaxx was losing his mind as a Stormcaller on Team Bravo went on a rampage, electrocuting anyone within range. A huntress on Team Alpha tossed a smoke bomb, cloaking her with invisibility, and picked up the spark. She ran it to the enemy rift, right past the Stormcaller. It was a tied game, and this was going to be the winning dunk if she could score. Angel and Logan watched nervously as they devoured their tacos; Nick, on the other hand, watched with anticipation, but not for the game-winning score. The huntress shadestepped past a titan that tried to tackle her, and her teammates had already killed everyone else. The huntress turned around, then blackflipped over the rift. Suddenly a bullet came down from the sky and killed her!
Angel and Logan looked at each other; neither one of them expected that, but then again, who would? The next spark spawned in, but a terrifying sight showed up. Angel gasped as she watched. Three Sunbreakers on Team Bravo summoned their Hammers of Sols and decimated anything visible. The Stormcaller warlock took the spark and, with the escort of the flame throwers, ran the spark to Team Alpha's rift. With a slam dunk, Bravo claimed victory!
"Where did that bullet come from?!" Angel exclaimed. "Alpha should've won that game!"
"It's t'e Curse of t'e Red Planet..." Nick replied. "I once played Rift, and jus' like t'en, me teammate was killed by a stray bullet from space. It was like he was 'ssassinated by God!"
"Silajir! Silajir! I believe I have found some new spells for you!" Merlin cried from the back of the armory. Logan spun around, then looked to Angel, who shrug her shoulders.
The three Guardians entered Merlin's study. It was a messy room, with various books and scattered papers covered with scribbled notes. Merlin waved a piece of his shell and summoned a Void axion bolt out of thin air. The small orb of Void Light, about the size of two fists, floated in place, to no one's surprise. "I finally learned the spell!"
"Merlin, that's a grenade..." Logan stated as he crossed his arms.
The ghost was not amused. "Attack!" Suddenly, the axion bolt attacked the warlock and killed him. Angel covered her mouth and watched the Void entity viciously maul the body.
Merlin revived Logan, who was astonished by what just happened. "What was that?..."
"This axion can be summoned as an etheric thrall. It is a sentient Void spirit!" Merlin exclaimed.
"Huh, that could be useful. What else do you got?" Logan asked.
"I do have one more spell, but I can't show you in here..."
The crew of five walked into the arena, then Merlin hid away in Logan's helmet. The warlock watched the presentation his ghost prepared for him silently, then smiled. "All right, everyone. Might want to stand back." Everyone got back as requested, then watched. Logan began waving his arms around, drawing Void Light seemingly from his very soul. Small crystals built up on the warlock's hands as he summoned all the power he could muster.
Finally, Logan cast down the Light onto the ground! A dark, angry well of Void fire formed at Logan's feet! Alice, Angel, and Nick immediately felt the intense gravitational pull of the singularity. Light fixtures swayed toward the dark pit, and small items were pulled inward and were devoured. Logan, who was ecstatic, stood in the center of the well but was unaffected.
"Logan! I think I've seen enough!" Angel screamed as she used her jetpack to resist the pull of the torrent of dark fire. She held onto Alice and Nick, as well, so they would not be cast into oblivion either. Logan held out his arms and let the freezing Void enter back into him.
"What was t'at?!" Nick exclaimed as he began breathing uncontrollably.
"I don't know, but I like it!" Logan shouted excitedly.
"I don't," Angel said with crossed arms. "It seems very dangerous and uncontrollable..." the woman was, in no way, impressed with the idea of Logan putting people in danger with that much power.
"Merlin assures me I can manipulate it in other ways than just by summoning a black hole," Logan said before willing away his helmet.
"And you're just going to believe that?..." Angel asked. Nick slowly backed out of the arena after he sensed the tension growing.
Logan and Merlin looked at each other, then Logan turned back to the titaness. "I'm not going to use it unless absolutely necessary..."
"How are you going to decide if it's 'absolutely necessary'?..." Angel began to walk out of the arena. "Don't delve too deep into 'magics' that you can't control, Logan..." With that, Alice and Angel left Logan and Merlin alone.
Later that night, Logan opened a portal to the Void so he could not affect the material world. He and Merlin walked around in silence while everyone else was sound asleep, safe in the City.
"Silajir? Would you like to hear more about the singularity you created today? I think you'll like--"
"I'd rather not," Logan said abruptly.
"Are you sure? It could prove useful..."
"Merlin, stop!" The Guardian shouted. "Angel is right! What I did earlier was reckless and dangerous! I could've killed them! I... I... I couldn't do that! You shouldn't have taught me that..." Logan sighed. "I... I shouldn't have tried it..."
"Could I at least tell you what else you could do with it?..." Merlin asked.
"Don't! I don't want the temptation..." Logan said sternly.
The two continued to traverse the silent world. There was nothing to look at, other than the black sky lit up with purple fire. The Void was a dull world, but it was quiet and peaceful. Despite its uneventful facade, it would quickly devour anyone too distracted to properly walk it.
"I'm going to tell you anyways, whether you want to listen or not," Merlin declared.
"Merlin, don't!"
"It can be used for mass paralysis."
"Merlin!"
"Or as an ice trap," the adamant ghost continued. Logan's eyes softened. "If you reduce the amount of gravity, then anyone nearby would seemingly be unable to move. If you took gravity out of the equation entirely, then the Void would just freeze them..."
-
Bravo